PVMI Varieties

Alturas (PDF)

Photo by M. Bain

Alturas is used primarily for processing, with its light russeting limiting its use for fresh-pack; however, it has been rated highly for its culinary quality. It is notable for its exceptionally high yields and solids, cold sweetening resistance, and high specific gravity. Resistance to most external and internal defects. 

Alturas has resistance to Verticillium wilt and early blight. Weaknesses include short tuber dormancy, late maturity in areas with short growing seasons and higher water requirements than Russet Burbank.

Aberdeen Potato Breeding Program Cultural Management Recommendations for Alturas   (PDF)

Blazer Russet  (PDF)

Blazer Russet with its early maturity is considered to be a strong replacement possibility for Shepody.  It has oblong, medium to large tubers that average 8 ounces with excellent culinary qualities.  The characteristic light russeting means the tubers have tan to light brown skins with firm, creamy white flesh.  Blazer provides higher yields of No. 1 and has excellent specific gravity making it a good dual purpose type.

Blazer is resistant to scab and moderately resistant to net necrosis, dry rot and soft rot.  It is susceptible to Verticillium wilt and moderately susceptible to PVY.  Blazer Russet weaknesses are that it has short dormancy and is prone to hollow heart.

Aberdeen Potato Breeding Program Cultural Management Recommendations for Blazer Russet (PDF)

Photo by M. Bain

Premier Russet  (PDF)

Photo by Simon Davies

Premier Russet most striking feature is it is highly resistant to the accumulation of reducing sugars following long term storage at 40 - 45°F.  Its cold sweetening resistance allows storage at colder temperatures thereby prolonging tuber dormancy and insuring quality for processing or fresh pack use.  It tastes good and makes a fine looking tuber.  It is a mid to late season variety notable for its high yield of oblong-long, medium russeted tubers, high specific gravity, excellent fry color from cold storage and resistances to sugar ends, tuber malformations and most internal and external defects.

Premier Russet strengths include high yield with a high proportion of US No 1 tubers, good tuber appearance, excellent processing qualities and high resistance to PVY.  It is more resistant to Verticillium wilt and common scab than Russet Burbank, although susceptibility to pink rot and powdery scab are similar.  Premier Russet  is very susceptible to PVX and PLRV.  Other weaknesses include susceptibility to blackspot bruise, hollow heart and dry rot.

WA Columbia Basin Cultural Management Recommendations for Premier Russet   (PDF)

Aberdeen Potato Breeding Program Cultural Management  Recommendations for Premier Russet (PDF)

Highland Russet 

Highland Russet is a mid to late season variety notable for its high yield of uniform, oblong-long, lightly russetted tubers.  The variety has moderately high specific gravity and resistances to second growth and most internal defects.  Highland Russet shows good potential for the processing market, although its light skin may limit its acceptance on the fresh market.

Highland Russet is moderately resistant to common scab, powdery scab, early and late tuber blight and PVY.  It is resistant to infection by PVX.

Aberdeen Potato Breeding Program Cultural Management Recommendations for Highland Russet (PDF)

Photo by M. Bain

GemStar Russet  (PDF)

Photo by M. Bain

GemStar Russet is an all purpose russet intended for french fry processing but equally good for fresh market.  It is medium to late maturing, medium to high yielding variety with oblong, heavily russetted tubers with excellent appearance.  It has medium to high specific gravity and excellent fry color from long-term storage.

The plant has a semi-erect vine that matures in the middle of the season and produces oblong tubers with heavily russetted skin. The eyes are intermediate in number and not well distributed. Tuber set is low, with average size typically medium, although large tubers are common with medium dormancy.  GemStar produced higher total yields than Russet Burbank in eastern Idaho, but slightly lower yields in the longer season areas of Western Idaho, and Oregon.  In 27 trials in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, GemStar produced tubers with higher specific gravity than those of Russet Burbank and produced much better fry color out of both 40 and 45°F storage.

GemStar has demonstrated less susceptibility to growth cracks and secondary growth, but slightly more susceptibility to shatter bruise and much greater susceptibility to hollow heart than Russet Burbank. Blackspot bruise susceptibility is slightly less or similar to that of Russet Burbank.

GemStar is susceptible or moderately susceptible to most common diseases of potato. It is resistant to common scab and shows some tolerance to Verticillium wilt, Fusarium dry rot, and bacterial soft rot. It is highly susceptible to PVY and spread within a crop is rapid.

Aberdeen Potato Breeding Program Cultural Management Recommendations for GemStar Russet   (PDF)

Defender  (PDF)

Defender is a late maturing, medium to high yielding variety with white long tuber type intended for processing.  It has high specific gravity, high yield potential, foliar and tuber late blight resistance, and resistance to shatter bruise and corky ringspot.  The vine produces white flowers, is semi-erect and matures late in the season, one to two weeks later than Russet Burbank.

The tuber type is considered long white with buff-tan skin and eyes that are intermediate in number and evenly distributed. Tuber set is low, with average size typically medium, although large tubers are common. It has relatively short tuber dormancy.

Defender has high yield potential and higher total yields than Russet Burbank in Idaho, Oregon and Washington, it also produced higher U.S. No. 1 yield than Russet Burbank at all locations.  Tubers have higher specific gravity than Russet Burbank. and produced fry color comparable to Russet Burbank out of both 40 and 45°F storage Defender has less susceptibility to growth cracks, secondary growth, and shatter bruise although Blackspot bruise susceptibility is slightly higher than that of Russet Burbank.  It is resistant to foliar and tuber late blight although it is susceptible to common scab and shows some resistance to Verticillium wilt and PVX.  It has similar susceptibility to early blight, dry rot, soft rot, PVY and PLRV foliar and net necrosis as does Russet Burbank.

Aberdeen Potato Breeding Program Cultural Management Recommendations for Defender   (PDF)

Photo by M. Bain

Gem Russet 

Photo by M. Bain

IdaRose  (PDF)

IdaRose is a medium to late maturing selection with bright red skin and round tuber type for the fresh market. It is high yielding, has excellent eye appeal, and good culinary quality. It has long dormancy and can be used directly from the field or sold after storage. IdaRose is an excellent variety for home garden use. The strengths include high yield, good appearance, lack of internal defects.  The skin has shown russeting in light soils, and it has a tendency to skin when immature.

IdaRose is moderately resistant to early dying and net necrosis.  It is moderaterately susceptible to scab and susceptible to late blight.  It stores well and has a low fertilizer requirement.

Photo by M. Bain

Ivory Crisp 

Photo by M. Bain

Ivory Crisp is an early chipping variety with high specific gravity and medium to high yield.  It has good cold chipping potential and long-term storage capability.  With spreading vines that mature in mid-season, it produces numerous white flowers and netted round tubers with white skin with eyes that are intermediate in number and not well distributed. Tuber set is medium as is the tuber size.  Ivory Crisp has similar yields to Atlantic in Idaho and produced tubers with similar specific gravity and slightly lower tuber solids than Atlantic. It produced better chip color both out of 40 and 50°F storage It is less susceptible to hollow heart than Atlantic with other internal and external quality characteristics are fairly similar.

Ivory Crisp is generally similar to Atlantic with respect to disease resistance, except that Atlantic is immune to PVX, while Ivory Crisp is susceptible and Atlantic is also somewhat more resistant to PVY infection.

Klamath Russet 

Klamath Russet is a late-maturing, high-yielding, blocky, russet-skinned variety suitable for fresh market.  Sugars are typically too high and solids too low for satisfactory frozen processing.  It consistently produces higher total yields and much higher No.1 yields and larger tubers than either Russet Burbank or Russet Norkotah. Hollow heart and brown center are less common in Klamath Russet than in Russet Burbank, but hollow heart is often present in oversized tubers. Klamath Russet is susceptible to growth cracking.  Blackspot bruising and vascular discoloration are slightly more common in Klamath Russet than in Russet Burbank and Russet Norkotah.

Klamath Russet tubers are darker colored, more heavily russetted, and more uniform in shape and size than Russet Burbank and nearly as uniform and attractive as Russet Norkotah in short-season western sites; tubers are blocky with slightly lower length/width ratios than either of the other two varieties.  Klamath Russet should be planted closer than Russet Burbank to avoid excessive tuber size and increased risk of hollow heart.

Klamath Russet vines mature slightly later than Russet Burbank. It is moderately resistant to Verticillium wilt and very resistant to common scab. It is very susceptible to potato leafroll virus (PLRV); susceptible to net necrosis caused by PLRV, foliar and tuber infection by late blight, and Fusarium dry rot; and moderately susceptible to early blight and Erwinia soft rot.  Klamath Russet is susceptible to corky ringspot caused by tobacco rattle virus.

Photo by Steve James

Mazama  (PDF)

Photo by Steve James

Mazama is an early maturing clone with oval, bright red skinned tubers suitable for table use and the red-skinned creamer market.  It produces lower total yields than Red LaSoda and Dark Red Norland, but similar marketable yields with a high percentage of small, high-value tubers, and significantly fewer culls.  Mazama tubers are oval with uniformly bright red skin color that does not fade in storage, and have shallow eyes.  They have higher specific gravity than Dark Red Norland and Red LaSoda. Internal defects, including hollow heart and brown center, and external growth cracks seldom occur.

Mazama vines mature slightly earlier than Red LaSoda or Dark Red Norland, and are sensitive to metribuzin injury.  It is more resistant to PVY than Dark Red Norland and much more resistant than Red LaSoda.  Mazama expresses typical PVY foliage symptoms, which are readily observable and is susceptible to most fungal diseases and to corky ringspot caused by tobacco rattle virus.

Modoc  (PDF)

Modoc is an early maturing, round to oval, red skinned clone suitable for fresh market use.  It produces total yields slightly lower than those of Dark Red Norland and Red LaSoda but with a more desirable size profile, with higher yields of small, high-value tubers, and fewer culls Tubers are round to oval, and seldom exhibit growth cracks or irregular shape common to Dark Red Norland and Red LaSoda.  The tubers are a uniform bright skin color that does not fade in storage, and have shallow eye depth compared to Red LaSoda.  Modoc tubers have specific gravity (total solids/starch) similar to Dark Red Norland and Red LaSoda.  Internal defects, including hollow heart and brown center, and external growth cracks occur less frequently than in Dark Red Norland or Red LaSoda.

Modoc vines mature slightly earlier than Red LaSoda, and are sensitive to metribuzin injury. Modoc is susceptible to most fungal diseases.  Experience with seed increases indicate it is not particularly susceptible to virus diseases and expresses readily discernible foliar symptoms to PVY. It is susceptible to late blight foliar and tuber infection.

Photo by Steve James

Summit Russet

Photo by M. Bain

Summit Russet has late maturity and high yield of U.S. No. 1 potatoes. It was selected for superior tuber quality and has shown good performance for both french fry processing and tablestock market characteristics. Tubers of this variety have produced consistent and high tuber specific gravity and excellent fry color following storage. It was intended to replace Russet Burbank and/or Russet Norkotah produced for storage.  Summit Russet matures late in the season, and produces tubers typically long in shape, and somewhat flattened, with moderately russetted skin. The skin russetting has usually been very uniform from stem to bud end. The eyes have shown a tendency to be relatively low in number and not well distributed. Tuber number is usually low and have longer dormancy, 140 days when stored at 45°F, as compared to 145 days for Russet Burbank.

In comparative trials in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington Summit Russet has produced total tuber yields similar to or less than for Russet Burbank but it produced higher yields and percentages of U.S. No. 1 tubers than Russet Burbank in all regions of the Northwest   In quality evaluations, tubers had much higher tuber solids (specific gravity) than did those of Russet Burbank. It also produced better fry color following storage at both 40 and 45°F.

Summit Russet has shown less susceptibility than Russet Burbank to all major external and internal defect problems. Tubers have shown good resistance to growth cracks and second growth, moderate resistance to shatter and blackspot bruise, and moderate susceptibility to hollow heart. On average, it has shown less hollow heart than Russet Burbank.  It has demonstrated more resistance to Verticillium wilt, foliar and tuber early blight, foliar and tuber late blight, and tuber net necrosis than Russet Burbank.

Aberdeen Potato Breeding Program Cultural Management Recommendations for Summit Russet (PDF)

Willamette 

Willamette, is a high yielding round white variety with excellent chipping qualities.  Tubers are similar in shape to those of Atlantic but average slightly smaller as shown by higher yields of tubers weighing less than 4 ounces, reduced tuber size may be due in part to later maturity. Willamette vines are medium large, vigorous and mature later than Atlantic.  The flower color ranges from blue-purple violet inner corollas to light gray acumen, or petal tips.  Willamette has typically shown fewer internal defects, especially brown center, hollow heart and internal brown spot, than Atlantic. The two clones show similar external defects.  The tubers sometimes have a pronounced folded bud end and tend to cling to stolons when harvested immature.   It produced lighter fry color than Atlantic from both 40 and 50°F storage.

Willamette has shown more resistance to Verticillium wilt, early blight and net necrosis than Atlantic. Both varieties have shown similar foliar susceptibility to late blight in western Oregon but Willamette has typically been much more susceptible to blight-induced tuber decay.

Photo by Steve James

Winema 

Photo by Steve James

Winema is an early maturing, round to oval, red-skinned clone suitable for table use.  It produces lower total yields than Red LaSoda and Dark Red Norland but similar marketable yields with a higher percentage of small, high-value tubers, and significantly fewer culls. Winema tubers are round to oval, seldom exhibit growth cracks or rough shape common to Red LaSoda and Dark Red Norland, produce uniform bright skin color that does not fade in storage, and have shallow eyes compared to Red LaSoda.  The tubers have lower specific gravity than Dark Red Norland and Red LaSoda.  Internal defects, including hollow heart and brown center, and external growth cracks seldom occur. 

Winema vines mature slightly earlier than Red LaSoda. Vines are sensitive to metribuzin injury.  It is very susceptible to PVY and foliar PVY symptoms are very difficult to detect visually. It is also susceptible to most fungal diseases.  In testing at Corvallis, Oregon, Winema experienced much less foliar and tuber late blight infection than most selections included in the trial. This was thought to be due to the maturity of the vines at the time of infection. Winema is susceptible to corky ringspot caused by tobacco rattle virus. It is moderate susceptible to Fusarium dry rot.   

Russet Legend 

Russet Legend tubers, for processing or fresh market, mature late. Tuber shape ranges from oblong to long depending on the growing area.  Compared to Russet Burbank, tubers are larger, darker, more russeted and shallow-eyed, and more uniform in size and shape, they also typically show higher oven dry solids.  Russet Legend vines are typically slightly smaller and later maturing than Russet Burbank, the plants tend to have slightly fewer stems and to set slightly fewer tubers, consequently, Legend tubers are noticeably larger.

Russet Legend is relatively resistant to blackspot and shatter bruise, hollow heart, brown center and second growth, and sugar-ends compared to Russet Burbank.  Russet Legend has occasionally shown extreme susceptibility to stem-end discoloration. The problem seems to be physiological in nature and related to unusually large stolon size and immaturity at harvest.  Thorough vine kill and an interval of three weeks between vine kill and harvest is recommended when possible.

Russet Legend has good resistance to tuber late blight symptoms compared to Ranger Russet, Shepody, Russet Norkotah and Russet Burbank. It is resistant to metribuzin injury and scab and slightly resistant to Verticillium wilt but very susceptible to PVY.  Plants are susceptible to PLRV and to tuber net necrosis, therefore good seed and aphid control are highly recommended. Tubers are also susceptible to Fusarium dry rot and bacterial soft rot. Russet Legend response to rootknot nematode and corky ring spot is similar to that of Russet Burbank.

Russet Legend typically produces total yields 3 to 8 percent lower than Russet Burbank but U.S. No.1 yields are typically 10 to 30 percent higher. Tubers tend to be larger than Russet Burbank  This variety is an excellent choice for frozen processing. Starch content is consistently higher than Russet Burbank and fry color is lighter. It tends to have slightly higher levels of protein and vitamin C than Russet Burbank.

Photo by S. Love

Yukon Gem  (PDF)

Yukon Gem is a mid-season selection with light-yellow flesh and higher yield potential than Yukon Gold (its paternal parent). It is also notable for its PVY and tuber blight resistances that are derived from its Scottish parent, Brodick. Yukon Gem total yield across all Western regional sites was significantly greater than Yukon Gold in repeated trials. Merit ratings for fresh pack characteristics including post harvest evaluations for boiling, baking, and microwave characteristics were comparable to those for Yukon Gold in all four years. Yukon Gem has moderately low specific gravity and good resistance to tuber malformations and most internal and external defects; its tubers exhibit little or no after-cooking darkening. It produces acceptable potato chips, but its lower specific gravity may limit its use for this purpose.

Yukon Gem has an erect, medium vine that matures relatively early in the season. It produces medium red-purple flowers that have a tendency to abort.  It produces round to oval, light yellow skin with pink splash around the eyes. The eyes are intermediate in depth and number and are evenly distributed. Tuber set is low to medium, and tuber size is medium.  Yukon Gem produced higher average total yields than Yukon Gold in early harvest trials in eastern Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Average yields were 12% higher than Yukon Gold in Idaho, 41% higher in Oregon and 21% higher in Washington. Yukon Gem produced higher yields of 4-10 oz. Tubers at all locations but also produced lower yields of>10 oz. Tubers than Yukon Gold at all locations.  In 20 trials grown in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, average specific gravity and percent solids for Yukon Gem were lower than that of Yukon Gold. Yukon Gem also produced slightly lighter fry color than Yukon Gold out of 45°F storage.

Yukon Gem, like Yukon Gold, is resistant to growth cracks, secondary growth, and hollow heart.  It is more resistant to PVY and late blight than Yukon Gold and it also appears to be more resistant to common scab, early blight tuber lesions, PLRV net necrosis, and more susceptible to Pectobacterium soft rot than Yukon Gold.

Aberdeen Potato Breeding Program Cultural Management Recommendations for Yukon Gem (PDF)

Wallowa Russet 

Photo by Steve James